A firm with a focus on sustainability wants to breathe new life into the former Elgin Shoezone building.
The shoe firm closed its doors and vacated the two-storey building at 134 Elgin High Street in January last year.
In July, we reported on Blue Carbon Solutions buying the property.
The firm is part of the Carbon Zero Group.
What are the plans for the former Elgin Shoezone building?
New owner David Stuart Mackman has exclusively revealed his plans to the Press and Journal.
He wants to transform the ground floor into a cafe.
Meanwhile the upper floors, previously used for storage and staff areas, will be turned into serviced apartments.
He wants to create a zero carbon card which gives locals discounts in the cafe.
It will also reward people for taking part in eco projects.
Meanwhile, he hopes to support projects helping the environment.
‘Help the environment and locals’
David explained: “On the ground floor, I want to create a cafe and have our own Elgin roasted coffee.
“I want to create a zero card concept where I can give locals a 25% discount straight off the bat and encourage people to stay local.
“Also I want people to get involved in eco projects in the area and this will increase their discount too.
“Obviously, we can’t make a loss, but the cafe isn’t there to make a lot of profit, it is there to service the community.”
Food with a purpose – vegan, of course
Meanwhile, he wants to push vegan food.
He explained: “We want to push vegan food as it is better for carbon zero footprint and higher nutrition.
“It is really tasty and not expensive to produce so we can give higher discounts to help locals.
“We also want to keep away from too much sugar and focus on good nutrition.”
What attracted you to the Shoezone building?
He has already has serviced accommodation across Scotland.
He added: “The building lends itself to be serviced accommodation without much work and damage to the environment.
“It is a good size townhouse and has a good fire exit.
“I don’t like butchering buildings and I like keeping as much as I found as possible.
“The serviced apartments will help in regenerating the town centre.”
The property was previously considered by PureGym when they looked at High Street properties in line with the Moray Local Development Plan.
However, the firm couldn’t find any suitable premises in the town centre so ended up at Elgin Retail Park.
David is working with architects Grant and Geoghegan’s Limited on his proposals.
He has pledged to create jobs for locals and opportunities for youngsters.
Meanwhile, the cafe will be run independently.
Conversation